The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 212

Four days before James received his mysterious guest.

A letter basket arrived at the girls’ dormitory of the Academy.

A letter from a distant land.

A letter from another country.

A letter from a lover.

Yuria, who found her letter among the many in the basket, entered her room with a bright smile.

Even without checking, Yuria could guess who had sent the letter. There were only two people who would write to her.

Father.

And Ricardo.

Yuria was in a good mood.

The letters from these two people brought vitality to her otherwise dull Academy life.

Holding the letter in her hand, Yuria began tearing open the envelope without a moment’s hesitation, a small smile forming as she anticipated what it might contain today.

“Who could it be…?”

-The North’s most handsome man, James.

“Pfft, what is this!”

The letter, delivered by a messenger bird, contained a story from four days ago. Since a bird flying through the sky was faster than a carriage, it carried relatively recent news.

With the sharpening sound of ‘seogeok,’ Yuria opened the envelope with a letter opener and began reading the clumsily written letter with a subtle smile.

-To my beloved daughter, Yuria.

As she read, Yuria caught a faint scent of her nostalgic hometown from the letter and smiled softly.

“Father…”

-Are you doing well?

The letter from her father, who lived alone in the North, as always, asked about her well-being.

Whether she was eating properly.

Whether she was sleeping well.

Whether her allowance was sufficient.

Reading the words filled with a father’s universal concerns, Yuria smiled faintly.

“I’m eating better than you are… You’re the one skipping meals, Father…”

As if responding to Yuria’s murmured worries, James’s letter provided answers to her unspoken questions.

-I’m eating well and living just fine.

-Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but meat tastes even better now. Haha, it’s ridiculous how strong my teeth still are!

-Yuria, you know the most pointless worry in the world is worrying about your father, right? Even without you, I’m eating breakfast every day, so don’t worry.

Yuria let out a small laugh, her heart aching slightly at her father’s playful words. For some reason, her father’s letters always tugged at her heartstrings.

Even though the words were nothing special, reading her father’s letters, which understood her feelings better than anyone, made her eyes glisten with tears.

Wiping away the small tears that welled up, Yuria clutched the letter tightly.

“I miss you.”

After reading the long letter for quite some time, she reached the end, where her father had included a piece of special news.

A man and woman who had come to stay at her father’s inn.

Yuria, who had been smiling softly, felt her body stiffen as she read her father’s letter.

‘Huh…?’

-I had guests for the first time in a while. It’s been lonely without any visitors, so it was a good thing.

-They seemed to be around your age. They said they came to the North for a trip, but honestly, I thought they were crazy. Traveling to the North during such a dangerous time, can you believe it?

Yuria widened her eyes as she read her father’s letter. Having lived her entire life in the North, she knew just how dangerous the region was at this time.

Just as her father had said, Yuria thought they couldn’t be ordinary people.

‘…Strange individuals.’

-Even though I told them how dangerous it was, they said they knew.

“Impressive…”

But who could they be…?

Yuria began to grow curious about the two people who had come to her father’s inn. And the next part of the letter only deepened her unease.

-They brought a woman with an injured leg to the inn. I couldn’t turn them away just because they seemed suspicious—it felt too heartless.

‘A woman with an injured leg…?’

-Anyway, they were truly remarkable individuals. You know your father doesn’t say things like this lightly. I can’t say if they’re kind, but the man was so handsome he reminded me of my younger days. He was also an excellent cook. He made a dish called ‘gukbap,’ and I’ll make it for you the next time you visit.

-He said he was an Academy graduate. I wonder if you know him, Yuria. He had red hair, and his name was four syllables long… I can’t quite remember. By the way, Yuria, don’t you have a decent man in your life?

-Just kidding.

As Yuria read the letter, two phrases made her hold her breath.

‘A woman who can’t move her leg.’

‘A handsome man with red hair.’

There were people who fit these descriptions perfectly.

Yuria shook her head, thinking it was a coincidence, but she couldn’t shake the unease caused by undeniable evidence.

She began to worry that Olivia might have gone to the North to harm her father.

Yuria bit her nails, trying to dispel her anxiety.

“No…”

Shaking her head, Yuria tried to push away her thoughts.

“It can’t be.”

Even if the people who had come to the inn were who she thought they were, nothing would happen. She decided to brush off her complicated thoughts.

However.

She couldn’t erase the unease inside her.

No matter how much they had reconciled and no matter that he had saved her life, the events that occurred with Ricardo always ended in tragedy.

At the Academy.

In the dungeon.

Even in everyday life.

Yuria, who couldn’t fully trust Ricardo, who thought only of Olivia, bowed her head, trying to calm her darkened heart.

“I shouldn’t feel this way…”

Yuria was anxious.

And four days later.

Yuria rushed to the North.

“…I shouldn’t have trusted them.”

Muttering words filled with resentment.

She ran toward the North.

*

Time rewinds to the day before Yuria received the letter.

A peaceful.

Quiet night.

Returning to the moment when Yuria would come to resent someone.

*

Having received recommendations for landmarks from James, I was relaxing in a hot spring with the Young Lady.

“Haaa…”

“Hihit.”

The hot spring melted away the fatigue accumulated in my body.

In this paradise-like peace, I turned my head to look at the Young Lady.

“This is fun… Huh?”

The Young Lady, who had placed a boiled egg on her chest, was staring at it with a serious expression.

Letting out a helpless laugh, I asked her.

“What are you doing?”

“Incubating it. I’m going to hatch it and eat it as fried chicken.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Yup. Ricardo, do you want to try? If you do it too, we’ll have two chickens.”

“I’ll warm up a bit more before I try.”

“Okay.”

The Young Lady put the egg back into her treasure pouch and furrowed her brow. Watching her earnestly cradle the boiled egg, I let out a small laugh.

‘I’ll tell her later.’

Because teasing the Young Lady is fun.

Thinking about how to tease her, I let out a small laugh and looked up at the brightly lit moon, exhaling a weary sigh.

‘It’s tough… really tough.’

Over the course of three days, I had given it a lot of thought.

Whether I focused on the perspective of life or approached it with selfish intentions, I couldn’t come to a definitive conclusion.

If I decided to run away, Yuria would weigh on my mind, and if I decided to meddle unnecessarily, I feared things would spiral out of control. My heart felt heavy.

“Haa…”

The only thing increasing was my sighs.

It was too late to do anything now.

When exactly did Yuria’s father die?

I didn’t even know his name for sure… There was nothing I could do.

I also needed to return and discuss business matters with Malik and deliver the new recipe, but time was not on my side.

‘I have no idea.’

With a bitter smile, I looked at the Young Lady. Soaking in the hot spring, she had melted into it like a slime, savoring the peace.

“Huuuh…”

“Did you give up on making a chick?”

“I ate it because I was hungry.”

“…?”

“I guess my body was so hot it cooked itself.”

“It was a boiled egg from the start.”

“…Cooked?”

The Young Lady looked at me with a betrayed expression. Clenching her fist as if to avenge the chicken, she puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

I responded to her anger with a small laugh.

“Eeeek!!! Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”

“Puhaha! Who knows? Maybe it could have hatched with the power of your love.”

“I’m not a fool!”

“Puhahaha! Ahhh! My apologies!”

After a brief quarrel, I stretched out while gazing at the brightly lit moon. Looking at the Young Lady, who was grinning beside me, I spoke in a calm voice.

“Did you enjoy the Northern travel?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I came to the North. It’s a bit disappointing that I couldn’t see everything I wanted, but… it was fun.”

“That’s a relief.”

The Young Lady stretched her arms wide and leaned them against the pile of rocks. With a languid expression, she seemed to have fully transformed into a slime.

‘Hmm?’

Naturally, my gaze shifted to the grand treasure pouch wrapped in a towel. I hadn’t looked on purpose; it was out of concern for whether she might feel cold. I swear on my conscience.

Smiling, I nodded.

“I think coming to the North was a good decision for me as well.”

The North.

It doesn’t seem like a bad place.

The Young Lady looked up at the open ceiling and smiled brightly.

“There’s not a single person in the hot spring. The stars are amazing too.”

At the Young Lady’s obvious remark, I suppressed my shaking shoulders and confidently replied to her.

“Isn’t that obvious? I rented the entire hot spring.”

“Hiiiik…! You rented it?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“For a peaceful bathing experience?”

In truth, it was because I didn’t want anyone else to see the Young Lady’s bare body. It was an extravagant decision born of that sentiment, but since trivial reasons aren’t cool, I enjoyed the luxury of wealth and told her,

“This much is nothing for me.”

“Hooo…”

The Young Lady gave me a thumbs-up and smiled with her eyes. Even with her small movements, her grand treasure pouch swayed, and I felt it was money well spent.

As expected of the innkeeper.

I thought about giving them a generous tip when we returned to the inn.

After gazing at the stars in the night sky for a while, the Young Lady turned her head and stared at me intently.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Ricardo, your body is amazing.”

“…?”

Admiring my pectoral muscles, the Young Lady let out a gasp. Her hand slowly reached out as if she wanted to touch them, and I wrapped my arms around myself, letting out a “Kyah!”

“What is this lewd remark?”

“I just thought, ‘Wow, Ricardo’s body is this good?'”

“It’s always been good.”

“So annoying.”

“Excessive humility is…”

“Eeeek! Shut up!”

The Young Lady scooped water into her hands and started splashing it at my face.

“Are you challenging me?”

“Heehee!”

I was grateful that the Young Lady didn’t call my scar-covered body disgusting. It was uncharacteristically considerate of her for a villainess.

I spent time responding to her water splashes with a small laugh.

“Butler’s Authority, Chapter 1.”

“Hiiiik!”

The hot spring rippled with intense splashes.

Perhaps due to my poor control of strength, a massive wave of hot spring water surged toward the Young Lady’s face.

“Eeeek!!”

The Young Lady flailed her arms, trying to defend herself.

Receiving the water blast as if she were facing the wind pressure of a swordsman on the verge of becoming a Sword Master, the Young Lady struggled as the water cannon hit her entire body.

“Stop it!”

“You started it, Young Lady.”

“Eeeek…!”

And then.

-Swoosh.

“Huh?”

“It came off…”

“…?”

“Eeeek!!!”

I decided to give the innkeeper a massive tip.

*

After finishing our bath, the Young Lady and I dried our wet hair while drinking milk. Although there had been an embarrassing incident, the Young Lady, who was full of pride, quickly recovered from her shame, so it wasn’t a big deal now.

“Ricardo, you’re a pervert.”

“…”

I rubbed my stinging cheek, enduring the Young Lady’s whiny complaints. Still, considering I got to see paradise in exchange for a slap, it felt like a good deal. Personally, I wanted to get slapped again and see it once more, but I buried that honest thought deep inside and began walking toward the inn.

And then.

At the sight of the inn, I stopped humming and clenched my fist.

“Huh. The inn’s lights…”

“They’re off.”

The time for a decision had arrived.

I instinctively felt it.